St Leger: The fallen Classic?

Nijinsky's St Leger win clinched the Triple Crown in 1970

By BBC Sport Online's Saj Chowdhury

The St Leger is steeped in great tradition, but in recent years interest in the season's final English Classic appears to have waned.

The reason? The great trainers of our time appear less keen to put their best runners in the mile-and-three-quarter race.

And that could be down to a fear of their charges being labelled "stayers", and by inference slower, when they are retired to stud .

A lot of the 'glamour' races are run over a mile-and-a-half.

And the racing calendar has also played an important part in the autumn priorities of connections.

The Irish Champion Stakes, run last weekend, the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (7 October) and Breeders Cup (27 October) all compete for attention.

Irish competition

This year sees the added inconvenience of the Curragh hosting the Irish St Leger on the same day.

Horses such as John Oxx-trained Pugin, who although among the 12 confirmations for Doncaster, may instead choose to run in the Irish equivalent.

There is also a fear that top jockey Frankie Dettori - always a box-office attraction - may elect to ride Marienbard in Ireland in preference to Alunissage at Doncaster.

The vital difference with the Irish race is that horses of all ages are allowed to compete, unlike the St Leger which only allows three-year-olds

Whatever the reason for the fall in popularity, it seems that the St Leger now lags behind the 2,000 Guineas, the Oaks and Derby in status.

And that is something, in the forseeable future, which appears unlikely to be rectified easily.